Planoorapii co



E. E. WINKLEY. FEED MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19| |917.

Patented A110'. 12, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET` 2.

Inv/en* l'or ffm witness THE CIJLUMBIA VLANOURAPH C01, WASHINGTDN. D. c.

r E. E. WINKLEY.

FEED MEcHAmsM.

` APPLICATION FILED MAR. I9, 19H. 1 3 1 3, 1 48. Patented Aug. 12,1919;u

[1v1/enfer 'Idd' e THE CBLUMBIA PLANOUPAPII C0 WASHINGTON. D. C. A

nnrrED sTA'rEs PATENT oEEroE. g

ERASTUS E. WIN'KLEY, YOIl LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY- MESN'EASSIGN- MENTS, TO SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON NEW JERSEY, ACORPORATION OF N'EW JERSEY.

Y FEED MECHANISM.

specificatiopf Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

Application led March 19, 1917. Serial No. 155,903.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, ERAsTUs E. WINKLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lynn, .in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed Mechanism; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mechanism for feeding successive articles froma supply of such articles held or stored in stacked relation.

One object of the invention-is to produce feed-mechanism of the kind inquestion, in which a considerable quantity of the articles t0 be fed maybe stacked in a comparatively small space or compact form. To this end,it is proposed to employ, in place of the straight magazine or chuteusually employed for holding stacked articles, a magazine which iscurved so as to hold the articles in the form of'a longitudinally curvedstack. The curvature of the-magazine may be of different characters, butin themost complete embodiment of the invention, it is proposed toemploy a spiral or helical magazine, in which a considerable quantity ofarticles may be held in a space of comparatively small .vertical extent.y

Another feature of the invention resides in the employment of means, foradvancing the articles in the stack, which are particularly adapted foruse in connection with a curved stack. To this endV the means inquestion are constructed and arranged to engage the surfaces of thestack at the outer and inner curves thereof, and are movedintermittently through-suitably curved paths conforming, at leastapproximately, to the longitudinal curvature of the stack.

Another object of the invention is to provide especially for the`feeding of articles which are wedge-shaped or tapering in one of theirdimensions. In the manufacture of heels, it is common to employwedge-lifts of leather, or other sheet material, and difficulty has beenencountered heretofore in stacking and feeding such Wedge-shaped lifts.In accordance with the present invention, the lifts, or other articlesof tapering form, are stacked in close contact, with their thicker andthinner extremities, respectively, together. This results in Vtheformation of a longitudinally curved stack, such as the vmechanism ofthe present invention is particularly adapted to hold and feed.

Another object of thev invention is to produce feed-mechanism adaptedparticularly for lfeeding stacked articles of sheet-material, and inwhich articles may be readily and conveniently added to the stackwhenever necessary. In previous mechanisms for the purpose, it has beencommon to employ followers of one form orv another for pressing againstthe rearmost piece in the stack, to advance the stack through themagazine. When pieces are to be addedY tothe stack in such anarrangement, it is usually necessary to remove or displace the lfollowertemporarily, thereby interrupting the operation-of the feed-mechanism.In accordance with the present invention, the use yoffsuch followers iseliminated, by the provisionV of means which act upon some or all ofthearticles in the stack byan edgewise clamp. ing action, the articlesbeing thereby gripped land advanced without the Vnecessity of anyengagement with their faces.

Other objects of the invention, and the features and construction andoperation by which they are attained, will be set forth in lconnectionwith the following description of the illustrated embodiment of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a plan-view of a machineVembodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the machine,looking upwardly in Fig. 1 and partly broken away to show the interiorcons struction; and Fig.l 3 is an elevation of the machine, looking fromleft to right in Fig. l, and partly in section approximately on the line3 3 in the latter figure. Y

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a machine particularlyladaptedfor feeding wedge-shaped or tapering articles of sheet-material,such-as wedge-shaped lifts for use in the manufacture of heels. Themagazine comprises two angle-iron members 6 and 8 which are curved, in ahelical form, about a cylindrical, central, vertical member 18. Thismember is coaxial with the helices formed by the members 6 and 8, so asto form a helical path of uniform.

cross-sectional dimensions in which a helical stack of articles 16may'be supported and guided, these articles resting with their thinneredges, against the member 18, whilel their out-er corners are engaged by the guidemembers 6-and 8. The members 6 and 8 are supported by arms 10projecting horizontally from uprights 12 which are lixed'upon thestationary bed-plate 14 of the machine. The, central member 18, which isshown as tubular in form, is provided, at its lower end, with adepending cylindrical stud 20, which turns freely in a bearing-sleeve 22on the base-plate 14 so that the member 18 is free to rotate for apurpose which will be described. i

The. articles 16 are discharged successively from the lower end of thestack, and the lowermost article in the stack is pressed against twovertical stop-arms 24 fixed upon the base-plate, asvshownin Figs. 1 and2. The articles are discharged by means of a feed-plate 26 which standsbetween the stoparms and is provided, at its upper end, with lugs 28adapted to engage the upper edge of the lowermost article in the stack.The feed-plate moves vertically through an opening in the bed-plate 14,and it is actuated by connection with a feed-slide 30 which is guidedvertically in a slotted guideway 32 depending from the bed-plate.

The feed-slideris actuated by cam-mechanism, and for this purpose it isconnected, by a short link 34, with one end, of a cam-lever 36, which ispivoted on a hanger 38 depending from the bed-plate. At its rear end thecam-lever carries a roller 40, which bears [against a cam 42 fixed upona cam-shaft 44.

This shaft turns in a hanger 46 depending from the bed-plate, and itisconnected, by means of a'sprocket-wheel and a chain 48, with anysuitable source of power. A spring 49, attached to the cam-lever 36,maintains the roller in engagement with the cam, and the cam is soshaped that at each rotation of the cam-shaft the feed-slide is oncedepressed and then raised again, thus drawing an article from the stackdownwardly through the opening in the table..

The feed-mechanism mayV be employed in connection with any machine intowhich it is necessary to feed an article at regular intervals. A chut-e50 is shown in the drawings as fixed to the base-plate, in position toreceive the articles expelled by the feed-plate, and this chute may bearranged to conduct Vthe articles to any required point of delivery.

Owing to the curvature and the slight inclination of the stack, thearticles therein will not pass downwardly through the magazine under theeffect of gravity alone, and means are therefore provided for advancingthe stack in proportion as articles are discharged from the lower endthereof. These means comprise feedcla1nps 52, in the form of arms whichare fixed, in pairs, on four vertical shafts 54. The concaved innersurfaces of thearms may engage the outer or thicker edges of thearticles 16 between the members 6 and 8 of the magazine, as shownparticularly in Fig. 3. By the use of four pairs of feed-clamps, eachextending around approximately a quarter-turn of the rack, provision ismade for operative engagement with all of the articles from top tobottom of the illustrated magazine.

The shafts 54 are actuated both to throw the feedclamps intermittentlyinto and out of operative engagement with the articles, and to movethem, when in such engagement, in thel direction of feed. To this endthe shafts are carried by an annular member or four uprights 62, risingintegrally from thc` feed-ring. A. collar 64, at the upper end of eachshaft, supports the shaft by engagement with the upper end of theupright.

The operative'surface of each clamp-member is curved to conform to thcouter curved surface ofj the stack, and is provided with vertical teeth66 to afford a secure hold upon the articles 16. The shafts 54 areturned slightly to cause the teeth to engage the articles, and thefeed-ring is then turned through a sufficient angle to advance the stackto the necessary extent. During this movement, the feed-clamps press thearticles radially inwardly, so that their inner edges are pressed firmlyagainst the radial member 18, the articles being thus clamped by anedgewise pressure. Vhen any substantial number of articles is in themagazine, the frictional engagement of their inner edges with the member18 causes the latter to be rotated. In this manner, the clampinggagement is properly maintained, even with the uppermost articles in thestack, and these articles are properly advanced at both their outer andinner edges so as to maintain them in position in the stack. For thisreason, articles may be introduced into the stack at will during thetimes, in the operation of the machine, when the clamp-members 52 areswung out of engagement with the stack, and for the same reason thestack is properly advanced through the magazine until nearly exhausted.

The movements, just described, of the shafts 54 and the feed-ring 56 areproducedthrough the intermediation of a second annular member oractuating-ring 68,

4 lug 74 Vprojecting inwardly from the gearsegment 72 and adapted toengage a stoppin 76 depending from the feed-ring. The actuating-ring isalso provided with gearteeth which engage a gear-segment on one arm of alever 78, which is pivoted on a stud 80 depending from the bed-plate 14.The leve-r 7 8 is oscillated by cam-mechanism. Forjthispurp'ose, it' hasan' arm 82 which is pivoted yto one end of' a'spring-housing f y 84.V Arod 86 slidesthrough the opposite end of thel spring-housingand isprovided with a head 88. A spring 90,.coiled around the rod within .thehousing, acts against the head 88 and tends to slide therrod inwardly,this movement being limited, however, by stop-nuts 92 threaded on therod. The other end of the rod 86 is'Xe'd in ayoke 94 pivote'd to one armofthe bell-crank 96, and this lever is pivoted 'on a stud 98 dependingfrom the bed-plate." The other arm 100 of the lever carriesa roller 102engaging a cam`104 on the cam-shaft 44. At each rotation of thecam-shaft, the Vcam-lever is operated to rock the lever 7 8 first in onedirection and then in the opposite direction, thereby producingYtn-oscillation of'theactuvating-ring 68. This movement ofthe ring tendsto oscillate the shafts 54, through the gear-segments 72, assuming thatthe feedring remains stationary. Movement of the feed-ring isyielding'ly resisted by a springpressed friction-plug 106, which slidesvin a perforation in the bed plate and presses against the periphery ofthe feed-ring. By means ofthe friction plug, movement o-f the feed-ringis resisted until the actuating ring has moved far enough to cause thefeedclamps to be swung into engagement with and pressed against thearticles 16. As soon as theswingin g movement of the feed-clamps is thusarrested, the continued movement of the actuating-ring, since it canresult in no 'further rotation ofthe shafts '54, causes a turningmovement of the feed-ring, whereby the shafts are moved to cause thefeedclamps to advance the stack within the magazine.

Upon the return-movement of the actuating-ring, the `opposite effectsoccur, the feedclamps being first swung out of engagement with thestack, and the .feed-ring being thereafter turned back to its originalposition. The pressure with which the feed-clamps engage the stack isregulated by the degree of vfriction produced against the feed-ring bythe friction-plug 106.

The extent of the advancing movementof the stack, at eachY operation ofthe feedclamps, is limited vby vthe stop-arms 24 to thatamount necessaryto take up such space as has been 'leftxvacan't 'by the removal of anarticle by the feed-plate26, and since the thickness of thev articlesmay be variable, provision is necessary for producingonly the requisiteand more or less variable amount 'of advance in the stack. f Suchprovision is afforded by the construction including the spring-housing84and the spring 90, forithese` parts lare adapted to yield whenever; theoscillating movement of the ,feedring and of vthe;actuating-ring isvarrested by engagement of theendof the stack with the stop-arms 24, and,by .designing the cam Y 104 to give an'amplitude Eofm'ovementsuiiiciently great for all contingencies,` an operation is insured inwhich thestack will be fedl with certainty'to the required extenuandwill then be yieldingly lpressed against the stop-arms with la forceregulatedby the spring'9'0. p i n Since the' feeding movements of thelfeedclamps are, for convenience in construction, horizontal, while thearticles fed move in a path which is downwardly inclined, the

advanceof the stack involves aVV slight relative sliding Vmovement, .ina' vertical `direction, Vvbetween the individual articles and theclamps. Y' This movement is' not sufficient, however, to substantiallyaffect the operation ofthe machine, especially as the teeth extendverticallyy across the feed-clamps, and the movement of. theV clampsxistherefore, for practical purposes, suniciently approximate indirectiomto Vthe advancing movement of .the-stack.v *1" f Whiletheinvention has been described as embodied in mechanism ldesignedrmrticularly for feeding Karticles o-f sheet-material, and vmoreespecially yarticles of a tapering or wedge-like'formsuch yas areemployed inthe 'manufacture-of shoe-heels, itV will be apparent that theinvention is not limited to such embodiment, and that, in general, it issusceptible of lembodiment'in various forms within the scope oft-hefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new is:

` 1. Feed-mechanism fory a Shoe machine having7 Vin con'ibination7 meansfor holding tapering'articles of sheet heel material in a curved stackwith their tapering'faces in engagement and normal to' the curvature ofthe stacll: and vfor advancing them in the direction ofthe length. ofthe stack; y and means forY discharging successive articles from theendof the stack. i l` 'V;2.YFeed-mechanism having, in vcombination,means for holding tapering articles in a spiral stack with their thinends disposed at the inner periphery of the stack vand for advancingthem in the direction of the length of the stack; and means fordischargioo ing successive articles from the end of the stack.

3. Feed-mechanism comprising means for holding articles in a curvedstack with the plane of the articles normal to the curvature of thestack and for advancing the articles, in the direction of the length ofthe stack, by concurrent engagement with the inner and outer surfaces ofthe stack.

4. Feed-mechanism for a shoe machine comprising means for holdingtapering articles of sheet heel material stacked in close engagementwith each other and with their thicker and thinner extremitiesrespectively together; and means for advancing the stack in the curvedline of its longitudinal extension.

5. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, a stach-holder in the form ofa descending spiral for receiving articles to be fed; means forregulating the descent of said articles by concurrent engagement withthe inner and outer peripheries of the stack; and means for dischargingarticles successively from the lower end of the stack.

6. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, two oppositely-disposedmembers, re-

spectively concave and convex in form, be-

tween which articles are held in the form of a curved stack, saidmembers being movable substantially in the direction of the length ofthe stack; and means for so moving at least one of said members toadvance the stack longitudinally.

7. Feed-mechanism comprising a cylindrical member, guide-membersarranged helically about the cylindrical member and spaced therefrom soas to produce in conjunction therewith a spiral path for a stack ofarticles to be fed and means coperating with said cylindrical member forfeeding said articles along the spiral path.

8. Feed-mechanism comprising a cylindrical member, and guide-membersarranged helically about the cylindrical member and spaced therefrom soas to produce a spiral path for a stack of articles to be fed, thecylindrical member being rotatable to promote the advance of the stackthrough said ath.

P 9. Feed-mechanism comprising means for holding articles in a curvedstack, including a convex guide member engaging the concave surface ofthe stack, and a series of concave feed-members engaging the convexsurface of the stack and intermittently movable to advance the stacklongitudinally.

10. Feed-mechanism comprising means for holding articles in a curvedstack, and a feed-member arranged to engage a surface of the stackintermittently and movable, when in such engagement, in a path curvedapproximately in the direction of the longitudinal extension of thestack, to advance the stack longitudinally.

11.A Feed-mechanism comprising means for holding articles ofsheet-material in la curved stack and for advancing the stacklongitudinally, said means including curved devices for clamping thearticles by edge- Wise pressure, and mechanism for moving said devicesapproximately in the direction of the length of the stack. Y

12. Feed mechanism comprising means for holding articles ofsheet-material in a curved stack and for advancing the stacklongitudinally, said means including a series of devices for clampingthe articles by intermittent edgewise pressure, and mechanism for movingeach of said devices, while Vengaged with the articles, approximately inthe direction of the length of the stack.

13. Feed-mechanism for a shoe machine comprising means for holdingtapering articles of sheet heel material in a curved stack, with thethicker and thinner extremities of the articles respectively together,and meansfo-r discharging articles from the end of the stack. m

14:. A magazzine, for wedge heel-lifts, compri-sing members betweenwhich the lifts may lbe stacked -in `close engagement with each otherand with their thicker and thinner extremities respectively together,said members having curved surfaces conforming to the longitudinalcurvature of the stack so produced.

15. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, a stack-holder in the form ofa descending spiral for receiving a plurality of uniformly taperingarticles in stacked relation with theirtapering faces in engagement andnormal to the curvature of the stack; and means for positively advancingthe stack as a whole down the spiral.

16. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, correspondingly' curvedcoperating members for gripping a plurality of articles in face-to-facerelation in a curved stack by engagement with the respective ends ofsaid articles; and means for actuating said cooperating members to causethe stack of articles to be fed. Y

17. Feed-mechanism having, in combination, means for holding to be fed acurved stack of articles ldisposed on edge in tace-toface relation, saidmeans comprising a cylindrical inner member for engaging thecorresponding sides of said articles, and a helically arranged outermember spaced therefrom and coperating therewith to support and guidethe curved stack; and means for feeding said articles in the directionof the stack.

18. Feed-mechanism Ycomprising means for holding articles inface-to-face relation in a spiral stack; a plurality of movable membersadapted to surround and engage the outer edges Aof all the articles insaid stack; and means for intermittently efecting said engagement andcausing said members to a-c'tuate the stack step-by-step in thedirection of said holding means. gp

19. A magazine for tapering articles, comprising a plurality ofsubstantially cylindrlical members between which said articles arestacked with their tapering faces in close engagement vand normal to thecurvature of said members and the thick and thin ends thereof engagementrespectively with the outer and the inner curved members.

20. A curved magazine for holding a plurality of articles havinguniformly tapering faces that are stacked together in face-tofaceengagement with the correspond-ing end-s of said articles disposedtogether, comprising members having curved surfaces conforming to thelongitudinal curvature of the stack so produced between which thearticles are stacked, and means for advancing said articles through saidmagazine. l

'21. A magazine for tapering anticles, comprising a lplurality ofcylindrical members between which ysaid articles are stacked with theirtapering faces in close engagement and disposed normal to the curvature0f said members, and means for feeding said articles through saidmagazine.

ERASTUS E. WINKLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

